Sylvania



(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 1. J. K. PROCTOR 8v J. H. KNOWLES.

DRYING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 22, 1890.

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K (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.'

J. K. PROCTOR &J. H. KNOWLBS.

. DRYING MACHINE.

No. 426,321. PatntedApr. 22, 1890.v

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i UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

' .IOSIAH K. PROOTOR AND JOHN HENRY KNOVLES, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENN- SYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE PHILADELPHIA TEXTILE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

DRYlNe-MAcHlNE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,321, dated April 22, 1890.

Application led January 19, 1889. Serial No. 296,827. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOSIAH K. PROOTOR and JOHN HENRY KNowLEs, of the city and county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Drying-l\/Iachines, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to drying-1nachines and it consists of certain improvements, all of which are fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the'accompanying drawings, which form part thereof.

More particularly our invention relates to that class of drying apparatus in which the air is forced or drawn through or among the material to be dried by means of air forcing or exhausting mechanism.

It is the object of our invention to cause an even distribution of the air as it is moved through the drying-room among' the material and to heat it in the drying-room itself, so that there shall be no Waste of heat from direct radiation. The material to be dried may be arranged loosely in layers or on racks or screens, or hung on hooks, poles, or other 'hanging devices; but whatever be the arrangement of the material, it must be such as to allow the free passage of the air through it, and should be so distributed through the room as to provide numerous arspaces.

In the drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of a pair of our improved dry- Ving-rooms. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the line a: of Fig. 1. Figs. 3 and 5 are longitudinal vertical sections of drying-rooms, showing modications of our invention. Figs. fi and 6 are horizontal sectional views of the same through the lines y yof Fig. 3 and .e .e of Fig. 5, respectively, and Figs. f7 and 8 are longitudinal sectional views of other modified forms of our improved drying-rooms.

In all the iigures the same letters of reference refer to similar parts, and the arrows show the direction of the air-currents.

Although the drawings show two dryingrooms side by side, we will iirst proceed with our description as if there were but one room, since each room is like the other in every detail, and afterward speak of the relation which the two rooms have to one another.

A is the drying-room, which we prefer to construct square in cross-section, but of a greater height than width. It is provided with a suitable door, through which it may be entered by the workman.

B is a central Hoor, which divides the room into upper and lower compartments. The room in practice preferably occupies two tloors of a building, each compartment of the room being of sufiicient height for a workman to enter and work comfortably therein.

C is a fan for circulating the air in the room, having a shaft D, bearing the pulley E, for supporting and driving the fan.

F are steam-heating coils placed just below the central iioor B iu the upper part of the lower compartment of the drying room. These coils preferably run around the entire square of the room, as shown in the left-hand portion of Fig. 2, and` are furnished with suitable supply and outlet pipes.

Extending upward from the floor B, inside of the upper compartment of the drying-room, is an inclosure or funnel G, down which the air passes to the fan C. This funnel extends upward about one-third of the height from the floor B to the top of the drying-room, and is preferably formed rectangular with four walls, though it maybe formed in any suitable shape in cross-section. I Vthin this funnel the iioor Bis continuous, except that it is provided with a suitable opening leading to the fan. Outside of the funnel and between it and the four walls of the dryiug-room the floor B is provided with numerous openings communicating between the lower and upper compartments. In the drawings these openings are shown as formed by constructing the floor of slats, leaving continuous spaces between them; but the shape of the openings is obviously immaterial, provided they furnish suflicient aggregate area for the free cir` eulation of the air from one compartment to the other. The slatted iioor also serves as a support for the operator in handling the goods in the upper compartment of the drying-room.

H and I are respectively an inlet and outlet air-passage, which are provided with suitable doors or gates. v

The operation of the apparatus in'drying yarn or other material is as follows: The doors II and I are closed, and the air driven by the fan C is impelled downward through and among the material until it reaches the bottom, where, finding no outlet, it circulates upward around -th'e four sides and corners of the room and passes through the openings in the floor B to the upper compartment, taking with it heat from the steam-coils F, through a portion of which it is compelled to pass. After passing through the floor B the air ascends upward to the top of the drying-room, whence it is drawn downward through the funnel G by the fan C. The general direction of the air-currents in the various parts of the drying-room may be clearly understood from the arrows in Fig. '1. The funnel Gr serves the purpose of giving direction to the circulation by compelling the air which otherwise would pass in currents just over the ioor B directly to the 'fan to pass outside of the funnel to the top of the room. The air as it thus circulates passes through and among the material to be dried in every part of the room, becoming rapidly heated and absorbing the moisture from the damp goods. v The doors II and I may now be opened to admita Isupply of fresh dry air through the former and to permit the hot damp air'to escape from the latter, and by a proper adjustment of these doors the temperature and humidity. of the air in the drying-room may be regulated and increased or diminished, as desired. Vhen the drying of the material is completed, the doors II and I are fully opened and the steam is shut off from the coil. The fan C soon drives out all the extra heat from the room, rendering the temperature therein comfortable to work in. If desired, during the whole process of taking the goods out and recharging the drier the fan C may bekept running, preferably at a slower speed than usual, so as to produce a grateful temperature to workin. In summer-time such a circulation of air during the recharging of the room is extremely pleasant and desirable. In some cases the doors H and I may be dispensed with, leaving an open inlet and outlet, through which a continued and uniform passage of air may be maintained.

In the drawings we have shown two dryingrooms adjoining one another, with a common passage or iiue J, into which each of the drying-rooms empties its 'discharging currents. The ascending column of heated air in the flue J produces a suction at the bottom of the iiue on the principle of atmospheric equilibrium, as in chimneys, and to this extent assists in removing the discharge from the drying-rooms. Of course the flue J could be built by the side of a single drying-room instead of being placed between two dryingrooms; but the method as shown is an economical arrangement where more than one drying-room is required to do the work. The line J is not absolutely necessary to the succcssful working of the apparatus, but is a desirable adjunct to it.

Instead of depending entirely on the fan C and flue J for the discharge of the waste air from the drying -room, we sometimes force the air 'out by a second fan K, placed specially for that purpose. In Figs. 3 and 4 this fan is placed at the top and forces the air into the drying-rooms just under the top of the room, where it is mingled with the downward current through the funnels or ilues Gr.' When this special fan is thus placed at the top of the drier, the opening II is not used, the only opening into the Vtop of the drying-rooms being from the special fan, and the discharge is forced out at the openings I by the combined pressures produced by the said special fan and the fan C.

In Figs. 5 and 6 the special fan K is placed at the bottom of the drying-rooms and sucks the discharge out. When thus placed, the openings I are not used, the only opening from the bottoni being that leading to the special fan, and the discharge is effected by the combined efforts of the forcing-fan C and the special sucking-fan K. It will be observed that when this special fan is placed at the bottom no waste-flue J need be employed, and none is shown in Figs. 5 and 6; but whether this special fan is placed at the top or the bottom of the drier, the openings into the drying-rooms from or to the fan may be controlled by suit- ICO.

able doors or gates, and one fan will suiiice for two adjoining roomsby having communieating passages from the fan to the rooms, as shown in the drawings.

The steam-coils F, while preferably placed as shown in the drawings, may be placed in any other convenient position inside of the drier-as, for instance, over the floor B, or in the bottom of the room just over the lower floor. The funnel orue C may be continued downward and below the floor B to any desired depth for the purpose of guiding the downward currents. Instead of afan such as shown in the drawings for moving the air, any other suitable air-moving devices may be employed.

Where on account of the lack of vertical height in the building in which our drier may have to be located, or where it may be necessary to dry only a small quantity of goods at one time, we construct these driers with but a single compartment for the goods, the second compartment in this case becoming a mere air chamber or passage. In Figs. 7 and 8 the air-chamber thus formed is shown placed at the bottom and top of the drier, respectively.

WVhile we prefer the construction here shown, it is apparent that the mere details may be varied in many ways without depart- IOS IIO

ing, or drying by employing the difference in specific gravity in air of different temperatures to induce circulation, and do not claim anything therein set out or claimed.

Having now described our invention, what We claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A drying-room provided with a partition dividing it into upper and lower compartments, in combination with the funnel or flue G, supported upon said partition, said partition having a series of perforations in its sur-` face outside of said funnel between the funnel and walls of the compartments, and being closed Within the funnel except at its center, which is provided with an opening', and the fan C, located at said opening to cause the air in circulating through the room to pass through the funnel or fine, the said funnel or flue inclosing relatively a much larger space than that occupied by the fan and adapted to contain goods to be treated, and the said partition acting as a licor for the operator both inside and outside of the funnel.

2. A drying-room provided with a partition dividing it into upper and lower compartments, in combination with the funnel or flue G, supported upon said partition, said partition having a series of perforations in its surface outside of said funnel between the funnel and wallsof the compartments, and heilig closed within the funnel except at its center, which is provided with an opening, and the fan C, located at said opening to cause the air in circulating through the room to pass through the funnel or tine, the said funnel or flue inclosing relatively a much larger space than that occupied by the fan and adapted to contain go'ods to be treated, and the said partition acting' as a iioor for the operator both inside and outside of the funnel, and steampipcs Within one of said compartments close to the partition, among which the air in circu lating is caused to pass.

In testimony of which invention We hereunto set our hands.

JOSIAH K. PROCTOR. JOHN HENRY KNOlVliES.

l/Vitnesses:

SAMUEL W. THACKRAH, WALTER A. KREIDER. 

